Sex, Power, Control: Responding to Abuse in the Institutional Church

Given their rhetoric on safeguarding, theresponse of religious organisations to abuse by the clergy - sexual, physicaland spiritual - has been inept, thoughtless, mean, and without any sense ofurgency. Sex, Power, Control explores the underlying reasons for themishandling of recent abuse cases.

Using psychoanalytical and sociologicalinsights, and including her own experiences as shown in the BBC documentaryExposed: The Church's Darkest Secret, Gardner asks why the Churches findthemselves in such a crisis, and how issues of power and control havecontributed to secrecy, deception and heartache.

Drawing on survivor accounts and delving intothe psychology of clergy abusers, she reveals a culture of avoidance anddenial, while an examination of power dynamics highlights institutionalnarcissism and a hierarchical structure based on deference, with defensiveassumptions linked to sex, gender and class.

Sex, Power, Control is an invaluable resource for all those in thechurch or similar institutions, and for anyone concerned about child abuse.